Chapei Dong Veng and Master Kong Nay
There is perhaps no other instrument that represents the sound of the Kingdom more so than the chapei dong veng, better known as the chapei. Believed to have existed since around 500 B.C., the dragon-shaped, three-stringed instrument is now recognised as part of Unesco's Intangible Heritage of Humanity programme. The chapei has the dual purpose of providing festive music for all kinds of special events and cultural occasions, as well as transmitting ancient Khmer folktales and poems to generations of Cambodians. It is, of course, impossible to describe the instrument itself without simultaneously referring to the world famous chapei guru, Master Kong Nay.
Now an internationally renowned and well-travelled master of the chapei, Kong learned to play when he was 13 years old, performing publicly at age 15 - an impressive feat considering the intricacy of the instrument and the fact that he was struck by a severe fever at age four which left him blinded for life. Nevertheless, his love for its sound, pride in his culture and determination to turn chapei-playing into a profession was enough for him to learn to overcome these challenges. “One day, at the age of seven, my mother brought me to attend a chapei performance in Kampot province,” Kong explains. “Suddenly, I felt that if I could play chapei, I would earn a living from it. So I started to learn to play chapei from my elder uncle named Kong Tith.”
Kong continues, “Whenever I play chapei, I feel very happy. When I first started, I performed seven days per week, and I’m proud of myself that I can help preserve Khmer cultural heritage.”
Indeed, Master Nay has not only helped safeguard the sound and use of the chapei with public performances throughout the country, he’s also carried the tradition to foreign shores with performances in France, Vietnam, Thailand, Nigeria, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Monaco, the UK, USA and Japan. Alongside performing, he has recorded several studio albums and videos.
“I love both album recording and live performance of chapei. Recording my sound can preserve my voice forever and young people can hear and see me play,” Kong says.
Another great joy for Kong has been his ability to teach the chapei directly to young musicians. “I am very happy I have been able to teach young people about chapei as these people will continue the tradition of playing,” he says. “[But] teaching people how to play chapei is not an easy job, and different people have different talent.”
Of the handful of chapei players who were lucky enough to be taught by Master Kong Nay before he retired from teaching, most have continued on as professional teachers and performers. These include Pich Sarath - Nay’s first ever chapei student, who is now a professional teacher himself - and Kong Nge, who was firstly taught by Master Kong Nay before his retirement, and is now studying beneath Sarath. Both play the chapei with the Cambodian Living Arts, and perform widely across Cambodia. Both Sarath and Nge describe the unique teaching style of Kong Nay with great fondness. “I started studying in 2003 until 2007,” says Sarath. [Nay] is a great teacher. He has been blind since he was young but he is a professional artist, so he can teach his students by memory as chapei doesn’t have notation anyway.”
According to Nge, learning by memory wasn’t so easy - especially in the earlier stages. “I studied with him about 1-2 months, then he retired and then Sarath became my teacher,” Nge explains. “When I first met Master Kong Nay, it was difficult to learn from him. But after I studied with him about a week or two it was much easier, because he has a certain technique which must be learned. He told us we learn by memory - you have to remember the sound of the chapei song. So I learned and listened and practiced.”
Learning any instrument without reference to any written notes or chords is understandably difficult. The chapei, in particular, presents a number of additional challenges due to the many steps involved in playing it, all of which must be performed simultaneously. Sarath explains, “At first it was very difficult for me, but it soon became easier and easier. You must remember to firstly press the frets, second, pick the string, and third, improvise: simply describe something around you. I started off playing one thing but forgetting the others! Sometimes I got very confused.” Nge adds, “The most difficult thing for me was also memorising all the things. But when we sing chapei we don’t have to remember all of it, we can just improvise a lot.”
Perhaps equally renowned for its complexity as it is for its soothing sound, Sarath and Nge attest that the difficulty of learning the chapei is far outweighed by the joy it brings to both players and listeners. Nge says, “When I play the chapei, I feel so happy and so proud of myself. I feel safe and confident, like something is helping me. Much more so than when I’m not playing.”
Sarath agrees. “The chapei makes me feel relaxed and very happy. Because the chapei player must read many books to have good knowledge of the traditional stories they want to sing and play to their audience. I like that. And the chapei is like magic - when I hear the sound of the chapei it makes me feel I want to do something special.” Indeed, one listen to the chapei is bound to stir the senses, whether it be a recording of the Master himself or a live performance by his young proteges, such as Sarath and Nge.
